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There’s plenty of analysis and overanalysis out there for everyone to find. Rather than writing a long post in one of the threads, I figured I’d just throw all my thoughts up here and see what sticks.

Things I liked, enjoyed, or that gave me hope
1. Schwarber, Schwarber, Schwarber. I kind of forgot how good of an eye he had, so there was something to like from each of his at-bats. He only swung at 2 pitches out of the zone (I think), and even more impressively he hung in against Miller ...

In a year of almost uniformly good news one of the most confusing seasons by a member of the AL East Champion Boston Red Sox! was had by one Xander Jan Bogaerts. A 23 year old shortstop who posted 3.7 WAR and a career best OPS with career highs in a variety of categories is a guy who sounds like he had a great year.

But if you are a Red Sox fan you are forgiven if the shape of Xander’s season has you a bit unsettled. After a blazing start Xander hit the skids in the second half. To wit;

For 1998 each voter should rank the top 15 players from all leagues combined.

Balloting is scheduled to close at 4pm EDT on 2 November 2016.

Anyone can vote, even if you do not normally participate in Hall of Merit discussions. If you have never participated in an MMP election, just post a preliminary ballot in the discussion thread by 1 November 2016.

I haven’t had time to write one of these up yet, but Walt posted this in a comment on the last thread. I’ll just post what he wrote, and give any of my thoughts in the comments.

I’ve paid very little attention to this team all year but here goes:

Offense is better than the overall numbers look—the overall numbers are dragged down by a mostly terrible bench but the starters are pretty good and they cleaned up one weakness getting Guyer to mash LHP. There’s no stud batter but everybody is a ...

No, not THAT one. I’m talking about the long wait until 7:08pm tomorrow. These waits with the offday in between are just so, so long. I already spend so much overthinking things, now I have another 24 or so hours to question and re-question everything I think I’ve convinced myself to think to feel.

Anyhow, the Cubs are in position to clinch the pennant at home. It’s a big moment, and as much as I try, it’s impossible to ignore history. Luckily, history doesn’t really matter; or it ...

Last and certainly not least let’s look at the non-player portion of things.

John Farrell and the Coaching Staff – I think it is a safe assumption that you have an opinion on John Farrell, everyone seems to and none of them are half and half. I am admittedly a fan of Farrell for a couple of key reasons;

1. I think he deserves credit for the development of young players. Between Bradley in 2013 and Shaw and Benintendi this year he has shown a willingness to shove a kid into the lineup. ...

Continuing with probably the most interesting part of the off-season. While it is likely that the Sox are going to make some moves elsewhere I would argue the one place they HAVE to make some moves is in the bullpen.

General Thoughts

Having said what I said above I like the raw materials here. I expect Kimbrel to be better and I am hopeful/optimistic about Barnes. I don’t trust Kelly but I do believe Scott will be a solid LOOGY.

Continuing with the look back at the year, focus on the rotation today.

General Thoughts

I didn’t love the Pomeranz deal but even if he is just what we saw in 2016 that’s a good 4th/5th starter. The Sox should head into 2017 with a lot of confidence that the rotation will be good and able to withstand some attrition. The one concern is beyond the six starters there does not appear to be a lot behind it. A Sean O’Sullivan sort that can be stashed in Pawtucket would be a good pickup. ...Read More...